The present invention relates to a stand for supporting a stringed musical instrument, in particular a guitar.
Stands for holding guitars usually are arranged so that the guitar is held in an upright, non-playing position. Although such stands are useful for temporarily holding a guitar, the upright position of the guitar makes it difficult, if not impossible, for a performer to play the guitar normally while it is being supported by the stand. Thus, in studio sessions, the performer would still have to remove the guitar from the stand and support it himself, either by a neck-strap or on the leg, while playing. This can create fatigue during long studio sessions.
A stand which is designed to hold an acoustic guitar with a round back in playing position is known to the Applicant, and seen in FIG. 1. As seen in this figure, the stand has semicircular arms which reach around the round back of the guitar. One arm has a slot cut into it to receive the neck of the guitar, while the other arm has a screw with a pressure plate that adjusts to clampingly hold the guitar in the stand. A bottom plate supports the guitar from underneath. Although this stand may be useful for acoustic guitars with round backs, its application to other types of guitars is severly limited.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a stand which will support a stringed musical instrument such as a guitar in a substantially horizontal playing position which can be used with most standard guitars.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a stand which connects to the existing neck-strap knobs or fasteners already existent on most guitars for holding the neck-strap.
A further object of the invention is to provide a brace for holding a guitar which connects easily to a standard vertical stand.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a bracket for holding the musical instrument which is quickly and easily removed from and/or mounted to the stand.
These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention in the provision of an apparatus for supporting, in a playing position, a stringed musical instrument having strap fasteners for receiving a body strap to hold said instrument. The apparatus includes a bracket for receiving the strap fasteners and supporting the instrument at the strap fasteners. The apparatus also includes support structure for supporting the bracket such that the instrument is in the playing position.
Some of the advantages provided by the present invention is the ability to use the apparatus to support most standard guitars. Another advantage is the arrangement of the apparatus that takes advantage of the neck-strap holders which are fitted on most guitars, in order to support the guitar. In this way, the finish of the guitar will not be marred by the apparatus, nor does any pressure need to be applied to the body of the guitar, possibly damaging or warping the guitar.
A further advantage provided by the present invention is the connectability of the apparatus to a standard vertical pole stand, thus allowing retrofitting of a stand with the apparatus of the present invention.
A still further advantage of the present invention is the easy removal from and mounting to the stand of the apparatus holding the guitar. This allows the performer to quickly take the guitar off the stand when desired, yet still be able to mount the guitar quickly and easily in order to play the guitar without having to support it himself.